A quieter day at Reculver

It was another early start, reaching the towers at 5:30am, but this time the conditions weren't great, overcast with a strong westerly breeze. There were a few terns feeding offshore as i walked down to Cold Harbour, but not much else:
4 Common Sandpipers, 8 Sanderling, 9 Dunlin, 36 Redshank, 5 Little Egrets, 4 Grey Herons, 1 Wheatear and about 35 Yellow Wagtails were the best bits, plus Common and Sandwich Terns.

On my return there was a migrant Whitethroat seeking shelter in bushes east of the towers, in lovely sunshine.

I saw a single Common Darter and a Common Blue Damselfly at Shuart, and on the way home a walk in Thornden Woods had Speckled Wood and Gatekeepers.

Willow Emeralds

I had a text from Marc Heath on my way to Reculver this morning to tell me there were a few terns moving through past the towers, so I headed straight there, but by the time I got out the car it had quietened down. I went up to the towers and sat on the side of the cliff in the sunshine with the towers behind me sheltering from the south westerlt wind. I could see quite large numbers of terns a long way off, but too far to guess what they were. A Peregrine flew west towards the Swale, and a juv Med Gull flew west close by. I gave it an hour, and just as I walked back to the car a Hobby flew in off the sea and carried south.

I took a trip over to Marshside, just the other side of the Thanet Way, and had a slow walk along the road finding quite a few Willow Emerald Damselflies along the hedgerow. They have obviously colonised along Marshside, and i'm hoping they will be around the Chambers Wall area as well, where they were first seen in Kent just last summer.

I took a walk to Brook but there was little around apart from a few Yellow Wagtails, a couple of Willow Warblers and a Sparrowhawk.

A quick walk at Thornden Woods was quiet as well, apart from numerous Gatekeepers. I was at a barbeque this afternoon in a lovely garden in Ringwold, and I was kept entertained by one of my favourite dragonflies, a superb Southern Hawker.

Waders and terns at Reculver

A 4:30am alarm this morning so I could get an early start at Reculver in the hope of a few waders moving. I had just parked up when Marc heath arrived and we set off at 5:30 towards Cold Harbour. We picked up a stray cat which followed us at least a mile along the sea wall before we shook it off. First bird we heard was a Willow Warbler just east of the towers. Further along Common Sandpipers were calling everywhere, and we counted about 16 birds from the towers up to Plumpudding, though there were probably more but it's hard to keep track when they spook so easily. Other waders were 18 Whimbrel, 35 Ringed Plover, 10 Turnstone, 34 Sanderling, 1 Dunlin and 2 Little Ringed Plovers calling as they flew south over the towers.

Also seen were 9 Little Terns, 15 Sandwich terns, 7 Common Terns, 1 Peregrine, 1 Wheatear, 1 Kingfisher, 3 Med Gulls and over 40 Yellow Wagtails.

On the way back there was a young Common Seal on the beach at Cold Harbour.

This afternoon I went back up to the towers and stood sheltered from the stiff south west breeze. After about half an hour I was joined by Chris and Anne Hindle, and Matt Hindle was down at Cold Harbour. I stayed until 5 o'clock. I managed to see 5 Little Terns, 6 Black Terns, about 60 Common Terns, and 15 Sandwich Terns, 7 Gannets and an Arctic Skua flew east. There were also 12 Common Scotors distantly flying east, while a large flock of Whimbrel flew east.

Early morning at Reculver

After a long week at work I was determined to make the most of my day off, so I made it to Reculver by 5:30am this morning. There was quite a stiff northerly breeze and it was decidedly chilly so on went the coat and hat, and I slung my telescope over the shoulder in the hope of a few seabirds moving through.

About an hour into my walk towards Cold Harbour I was caught up by Marc Heath, and by this time we had seen very little. We added a few nice birds on the way to Chambers Wall, and then we headed back the same way.

There were a couple of Common and a Green Sandpiper near Cold Harbour, and a family of 2 adult and 8 young Shelduck flew out the lagoon. On the beach we found a single Whimbrel and about 14 Redshank and small numbers of Ringed Plover and Oystercatchers. There were also a couple of juv Stonechats by the Green Wall, and 5 or 6 Little Egrets on the oyster farm.

As Marc left for Grove, I went down to Shuart for a short stroll out the wind. There quite a few Gatekeepers, a Red Admiral and a few Speckled Woods.

A few Migrant Hawkers were flying quite high over the trees, and a Black-tailed Skimmer posed for a long time in the sunshine enjoyin the warmth.

Willesborough and Hothfield Common

I planned to do a breeding TTV survey yesterday morning before work, but too much wine Friday night left me a little tired Saturday morning. So today saw me wandering the streets around Willesborough before 6 o'clock to complete my atlas surveys for the breeding season. I was surprised at the number of people out and about that early on a Sunday morning!

The survey went well, I found the usual common breeding birds, plus one or two surprises, such as Reed Warbler, plus a family of Bullfinches.I got a McDonald's breakfast and drove to Sevington where i could hear a Yellowhammer singing, and 3 Common Buzzards were soaring upwards on thermals.

With the sun breaking through the clouds I headed off to Hothfield Common in search of Dragonflies. I had barely set off when a Speckled Wood landed briefly on a bush next to the path:

It's a lovely place to walk, and luckily there weren't many people walking their dogs. I could hear Yellowhammers singing continuously, while young Great Spotted Woodpeckers called noisily from tree tops.I headed over to the little walk-way that crosses the acid bog and settled down for a while. Patience was rewarded with brief views of a male Keeled Skimmer. This is the only site in Kent for this dragonfly. Eventually a few males were watched, but unlike previous visits, these neat little dragonflies wouldn't come near the path, so I settled for a few distant pictures:

Gradually more and more people started walking past, and I was becoming the focus of fascination for many groups, and their dogs. I'm sure they were wondering why this scruffy, bloke was pointing a long lens at some muddy bog. Eventually I tired of hearing dog whistles blowing, and shouts from owners who's dog had wandered off somewhere. The final straw came when a Spaniel leapt into the bog in front of me and scared everything off. The owners hadn't a clue that this may have ruined my morning, they're only concern was the smell of the dog covered in mud.

I walked over to an area that looked quieter, with more flowers and trees. Here there were many butterflies, I saw Peacock, Red Admiral, Holly Blue, Large, Small and Green-veined Whites, Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper:

I also found lots of lovely Brown Hawkers, but sadly they wouldn't land, so no photos. There were also Common Darter, Migrant Hawker and a male Banded Demoiselle. I did get a reasonable photo af a Peacock:

At half past twelve i decided to head back to the car, but stopping every few minutes for photos meant it took nearly an hour to get back. I watched one of my favourite dragonflies, a Southern Hawker, patrolling the path.

Once home I went down to the lower garden and there was a young Blackbird:

Another try for Purple Emperor

Sunday 10th July was a lovely morning, mild and with light winds. I went early to Hoades Wood, just west of Ashford to carry out a TTV. Highlight today was without doubt when i heard Crossbills calling , and looked up to see 4 birds fly over. Shortly after, I could hear them calling again, much closer. Then I had some real luck, as first a brick-red male Crossbill flew in and sat on top of a tree no more than 20 yards away, followed by a female, and what looked like a young bird. I could hear a 4th bird calling but couldn't see it. For a few minutes I enjoyed these fantastic views, wishing I had my camera with me.

After a drink and snacks I drove up to Dene Park to look for Purple Emperor, and on arriving in the car park at the woods I became aware of a gathering of butterfly enthusiasts, all with the same idea as me.

I walked up the short path to where Purple Emperor has been seen recently, and stood for 2 hours watching the oak tree. Alas i had no sightings, but did see a Silver-washed Fritillary, Comma, Red and White Admiral, Large Skipper, Large White, Purple Hairstreak and Meadow Browns, as well as a fantastic Brown Hawker.

Small Red-eyed Damselfly

During the week I received a photo of a damselfly from Chris Hindle taken at Chambers Wall, asking what i thought it was. It was a teneral male Small Red-eyed Damselfly.

So today (Saturday 9th July) I went over to the fisherman's car park with my camera to hunt for damselflies. I needn't have worried, there were loads of damselflies with red eyes sitting on the vegetation on the Wantsum. Although very windy, I took a walk along the riverbank, pausing at each swim to look for insects. I counted at least 70 Small Red-eyed Damselflies, around 20 Red-eyed Damselflies, and probably about 50 others best left unidentified. This is the first year Small Red-eyeds have been seen at this sight. The 2 species with red eyes aren't too hard to tell apart from each other with a reasonable view.

Small Red-eyed above, Red-eyed below.

Also seen today were Blue-tailed and Common Blue Damselflies, Emperor Dragonfly and Black-tailed Skimmer.